battery powered with 'vivid' sound

I've experimented with battery power quite a bit over the past year, using the Dodd pre, Musical Surroundings Nova Phono Pre and a BPT battery power supply for the Squeezebox. I've generally concluded that if you have clean AC power available to your system, the benefits of battery power are largely overstated. The Dodd Pre is excellent and was dead quiet - but so is the VAC Renaissance MKII that I currently use. I still had some noise and hum issues with the Nova, so battery power is not a panacea for the ills that often affect phono pres. Also, you have to consider the inherent maintenance (battery replacement) and possible listening restrictions (need to recharge, etc.) in considering going with battery power. All in all, I've decided to move on from battery power for the time being.

To the original poster, I will say that in terms of sonics, the Dodd pre would fit your needs precisely. It's an excellent piece.

The RWA products have a "smart" module that causes the charger to engage when the batteries are drained to a certain level. The concern with SLA batteries is that if you drain them too much at one time they cannot fully recover and it significantly reduces their useful life. The reason the reviewers - and RWA - tell you to leave the RWA's plugged is so that the smart module will kick in when needed and save the batteries. They will certainly operate without being plugged in, but you risk excessive discharge if you listen too long. I owned a competing battery product without the smart module feature and battery maintenance was an issue.